1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic cannon and to a fire control mechanism for automatic cannons, comprising a trigger control member, which is engageable with the trigger of the cannon and is operable by an actuator to move against a restoring force from an inoperative position to an operative position for operating the trigger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automatic cannons are weapons which are capable of sustained fire and will shoot automatically as long as the trigger is operated. Separate fire control mechanisms are provided, which serve to operate the trigger and are mounted on the cradle of the cannon and comprise a trigger control member for raising the trigger so as to initiate a burst. The trigger is mounted on the cannon proper, which is longitudinally movably mounted on the cannon proper, which is longitudinally movably mounted on the cradle so that the recoil can be taken up. The trigger control member is operatively connected to an actuator, which may consist of a hydraulic cylinder, an electromagnet or a power screw and which is operable to raise the trigger control member from an inoperative position to an operative position for operating the trigger when the cannon is to be fired. When the actuator is de-energized or reversed, a restoring force which is exerted in a suitable manner by a spring or weight bias returns the trigger control member to its inoperative position so that the trigger is no longer operated and the burst is terminated. Because such automatic cannons have a high firing rate and the actuator has an inertia and because the operator has a rather long reaction time, most of the known automatic cannons are not capable of firing single shots.
Published German Application No. 30 01 490 discloses a fire control mechanism for automatic weapons in which two two-armed levers and an adjustable stop can cooperate for a firing of bursts and individual shots. For a firing of bursts the rotation of one of the levers, which is connected to an actuating rod, is limited by the stop in such a manner that the first mentioned lever can turn the other lever to its trigger-operating position and can maintain said other lever in said triggeroperating position. For a firing of single shots the stop is moved out of the range of the first-mentioned lever so that the pulling of the actuating rod will cause the first-mentioned lever to move the second lever to its trigger-operating position and immediately thereafter to release the second lever because the firstmentioned lever is being pulled through the firing position without engaging the stop. In that case, the acuating rod must undesirably be moved over different distances for a firing of single shots and of bursts, the reliability in operation will depend on a highly exact adjustment of the levers and of the stop and the entire fire control mechanism occupies a relatively large space and must be accommodated in a separate housing, which is mounted on the cannon.